


My Little Darling

by dee_thequeenbee



Series: Milady Verse [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, OQ Prompt Party 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 07:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19000765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dee_thequeenbee/pseuds/dee_thequeenbee
Summary: for the oq prompt party, 2019. tuesday. personal prompt: Milady being all protective of toddler Sophie when she starts crawling, and her take on wherever Regina and Robin’s relationship is at the time.





	My Little Darling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [soligblomma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soligblomma/gifts).



Life has changed quite a lot since Sophie’s birth, and yet life has been all the same. Of course, our family has seen quite the change, but then, where would the fun be without changes?

When we took Sophie home, Regina was so anxious, I remember. She wouldn’t let her out of her sight, she would always want to know where the baby was, constantly, and the only people she trusted with her were Robin and Emma. She was so afraid she wouldn’t be a good mother, my poor Regina. And yet, Sophie was so brilliant and such a darling girl – that even Regina, after a while, has convinced herself that there was nothing wrong with her taking a few hours for herself, that she could leave her daughter and not be considered a failure. That it was normal not to be with Sophie during every minute of her life.

When Robin and Richard moved in with us, we got through another change. Suddenly, there were five of us in that house, and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed Richard’s presence as my housemate. (Even though this has put us through a visit to the vet, and… let’s say Regina told Robin that two cats was enough. Never mind. Not all cats are meant to be parents, and I quite like it that way.)

And now Sophie can crawl everywhere, walk… quite as much, and… she has almost given me several heart attacks, because she’s almost reckless in her urge to discover the world. Her playpen is not enough now – even if Richard and I used to jump inside and keep her company. Usually, when she starts walking, I start following her around, or Richard does, so we can immediately warn someone if she falls. It’s a stressful life, but I can easily say that Sophie has something like four parents, and she’ll never be without someone to watch over her.

Also, I remember when she said her first words… that was a nice day, because we were all at the park with Henry and Emma. So Sophie was sitting in the grass, a bit far from us, but we were watching her nonetheless. And Richard was awake – what a novelty! He usually is asleep when something big happens. Sophie was there, wanted to drink or something, and I think that normally she would have gotten up and taken the baby bottle from Regina’s hands. And yet, evidently she didn’t want to get up, engrossed in her games, so we all witnessed her raising her head, looking at Regina and saying “Mama!”, so happily I thought my heart would combust.

There have been happy tears and cheers and Emma saying “Damn, I lost the bet,” but the happiest was Regina, who has reached her immediately and praised for being so brilliant and smart. I went there to join them, purring all the way, and Sophie has reached for my tail and squeezed lightly. Regina was trying to make her say something again, with a “Look who’s here? It’s Milady! Say hello to Milady, darling!”

“Ady!” she has cried, delighted, “Ady, ady!”

“Oh my god,” Robin’s voice has come from above. He has crouched down next to us, and surrounded Regina’s shoulders with his arm. “You are such a smart girl, Sophie, like your mama!”

“Mama!”

Regina was full on crying at this point, and Robin has pressed a kiss to her temple. “You know, now that she’s started, I don’t think she’ll ever stop.”

And Sophie didn’t stop, not a chance.

In time, she has learned _Emma_ and _Henny_ , then _Icha_ – which… wasn’t that amusing for Richard, I should say.

One day, we were all in Robin and Regina’s bed. Honestly, I liked to sleep there during the day, but there were too many humans in it during the night, so I tended to opt for the reading alcove with Richard. Anyway, it was a Saturday morning, and they were watching Sophie who was half awake-half asleep between them, playing lazily with a stuffed horse.

“She hasn’t said my name yet,” he whispered, lowly, not to disturb Sophie.

“I know, honey,” Regina answered, with a sad smile. “She will, in time. But… I think it’s because she doesn’t know how to call you. I mean, I’m always mama for her, but… we haven’t…”

“We haven’t?” Robin prompted her, even though I knew he already knew what Regina was going to say. I lifted my head, patting Richard on his paw to signal how important that moment was.

“We haven’t talked about what you are to her,” Regina said, looking at her daughter – and, I guessed, avoiding Robin’s eyes. “I mean, are you… mom’s boyfriend? Her uncle? For her, are you… Robin? Or… something else?”

“I think… I think you know what I’d be,” he said slowly. I watched, fascinated, as I felt a current of electricity pass between them – I saw it as clear as I saw the eight colors of the rainbow, and – I’m sorry you humans can’t see love, because it would save you a lot of troubles.

“You’re serious?” she asked, in that sort of voice she had when she couldn’t dare to believe to good things.

Robin searched for her hand and whispered, “I’ve been… I’ve been parenting that little girl since you brought her home, Regina. And I’m not going anywhere, nor I will go anywhere in the future. You… and Sophie… you’re it for me.”

I noticed Regina was crying almost instantly, and I turned to see an astounded Richard look at them with wonder in his eyes. “It’s okay, dear,” I told him. “I know they’re so beautiful and hopeless, aren’t they?”

“Most definitely,” he said, licking his fur. “Humans are so weird, and yet they surprise me every time.”

After that day, more than once I caught Regina with Sophie, teaching her the word _Dada_ when she knew Robin wasn’t there. But the love in his eyes when Sophie finally told him his word, was something I couldn’t easily forget.


End file.
